Losing Control
by Jyuoa
Summary: When Gwen fears that she's losing control of her powers, Verdona and her friends try to help her regain control and keep her calm. Gwevin, slight Benlie. Rated T for violence in some chapters.
1. Chapter 1

At the auto show, something hid in the shadows. One of the girls turned for a second, as if she'd felt something, then ignored it and continued looking around.

In one of the rooms, Kevin was looking at one of the cars. Gwen was watching him from a few feet away. She looked out the window, thinking of how much had just happened. A couple days ago, they'd just saved the entire universe from the Highbreed.

"You okay?" She turned around and saw Kevin right behind her.

"Fine." Gwen told him. She was about to say something, when she heard screaming. She wasn't the only one who heard it. The two of them rushed into one of the halls to find some type of fish monster attacking.

"Excitement never ends around here, does it?" Kevin absorbed the cement floor. Gwen stepped up and fired a bunch of energy disks at them. The two kept it up, until it switched targets and attacked Gwen.

"Let go of me!" She yelled, her eyes started glowing. Suddenly, she felt a surge of power just like during one of her fights a few days ago. The energy exploded and the monster was defeated. Kevin looked up and saw her in her Anodite form again.

"Gwen!" He called to her. She remembered what happened last time, but this time was different. This time, she hadn't allowed her power to come out. It forced itself out. Nervous about it, she changed back just in time.

"Kevin, what happened to me?" Gwen asked.

"Wait, you don't remember taking out that thing that attacked us?" Kevin asked.

"I can't remember anything that happened." She realized. "It wasn't like that last time."

"Maybe you should get home before anything else happens." Kevin told her.

"I have a really bad feeling about all this." Gwen told him as they left.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days after the incident, Gwen was up in her room, still shaken by the event. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She got up and walked over to the center of her room. "Grandma, if you can hear me, I need your help." She said, trying to channel her energy.

The guys were sitting by a garage outside. Kevin had explained to Ben what had happened. "So that's why she won't come out." Ben said. "Her parents are really worried about her."

"Everyone is." Kevin pointed out.

"I was going to stop by today." Ben told him. "I wanted to see if there was someway I could cheer her up."

"I'll come too."

"Okay, just give me a minute." Ben told him. He walked off to throw out his cup. On the way, he passed Ken. "Hey, Ken."

He made his way over to Kevin. "You're Gwen's friend, right?"

"Yeah, Kevin."

"I'm only here for the weekend, but I got an email from her explaining everything." Ken told him. "In it, she seemed really afraid of something. I don't know what's really going on here, but please help my sister."

"I'll do whatever I can." Kevin told him. Ken walked off after that.

As the guys drove off to Gwen's house, Ben was on the phone. "She seems really shaken by the event. I won't be able to meet you at the court today."

"It's no problem, I totally understand." The voice at the other end said.

"Thanks, Julie." Ben said. "Oh, and thanks for helping us in that fight. We may not have made it without your help."

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said. The line went dead.

"We're here." Kevin said. They pulled up in the driveway. They went up to the door and rang the bell.

"Hi."

"Ben, thank goodness you're here." Lilly told him. "You're cousin's…"

"I know, I know." He protested. "You told me on the phone like fifty times."

"We're really worried about her." Frank told them. "She's never been locked up in her room for this long."

"I know she'll talk to us." Ben told them. "Just leave it to us." The group began to head upstairs.

In her room, Gwen had fallen asleep. She was tired from trying to use her energy to reach Verdona. When they got up there, Ben saw when he opened the door. "We should probably wait until she wakes up." The two of them remained upstairs, and waited.


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen was still asleep when she felt another presence nearby. She opened her eyes and got up. "Man, how long was I out?" She asked, looking at her reflection and fixing her hair.

"I don't know, but you were like that when I got here." A voice said. Gwen turned around and saw nothing. It was as if the voice had come from nowhere. That's when she realized it.

"Grandma, how many times are you going to pull that invisibility thing?" She asked. "I'd like to know if you're in here so that I know I'm not hearing things."

"Sorry, kiddo. I couldn't help it." Verdona appeared. She was in her human form.

"I'm glad you're here, Grandma." Gwen said. "I think I need your help."

"Really?" The door to her room opened.

"Hey, Gwen." Ben said, coming in with Kevin following. "We just wanted to see if…" Then he noticed Verdona. "Hey, Verdona. What are you doing here?"

"Don't I have a right to visit my granddaughter?"

"No, it's okay." Gwen told them. "I called her for help." She turned back to Verdona. "Here's the thing." She explained about how she lost control during the battle and again during the auto show. "Only this time, I couldn't remember anything that happened."

"This doesn't sound good." Verdona said.

"I don't know what to do." Gwen admitted. "This never happened to me before. Is there anything I can do to keep my powers under control? Or at the very least, in check?"

"There are options. You could try meditating." Everyone looked at each other.

"Normally when I try that I'm trying to locate someone." Gwen explained. "But I will give it a try."

"It's the easiest way I know." Verdona told her. "Maybe we should try to find out how bad this problem really is."

"How bad it…Grandma, I have no memory of what happened during the battle. I totally blanked."

"Yeah, and not that I don't trust you or anything, but there is no way we are forcing her to transform." Kevin told her.

"It doesn't matter as long as we get to the bottom of this." Gwen said. "You realize that if I can't get it under control, I might lose my memory for good."

"We'll all try to help as much as we can." Ben told her.

"Okay, it looks like all of us are on the same page here." Gwen said. "We better find out what the real problem is here."


	4. Chapter 4

The group met in an abandoned warehouse. "What are we doing in this awful place?" Gwen asked.

"Oh, come on." Ben said. "We fight battles in places like this all the time."

"Yeah, but never anything like this."

"Hate to say it, but he's got a point." Kevin said.

"Who's side are you on anyway?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Guys, this is not the right time." Ben told them. "If you want to argue, fine."

"He's right, we're here because…" Verdona paused. "Wait, why are we here?"

"Shh!" Gwen whispered, there were a group of Forever Knights a few feet away.

"Head for cover!" Ben whispered.

"No need." Verdona turned the whole group as well as herself invisible. The group snuck out the back for a short period of time.

"Why turn all of us invisible?" Ben asked once they got outside.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be seen." Everyone groaned.

"Verdona, how are we supposed to find out how bad Gwen's power control is if we sneak back out of the building?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, she could end up in real trouble someday." Kevin added.

"Oh, nothing's ever been that bad." Verdona told them. "She might be overreacting but…"

"Guys, come on!" Gwen said. "Are we doing this or are we just going to sit around outside?"

"Does she always take charge?" Verdona asked.

"Runs in the family." Ben said, walking right by her. The group had re-entered the building. "Verdona, stay hidden. We don't want them to attack you." She remained off to the side.

The Forever Knights had spotted them. The two groups began to fight each other. For some reason, Ben couldn't activate the Omnitrix. "What's wrong?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know." Ben called back. "It's been acting like this since our last battle, after I made that energy wave."

"Just improvise!" She called. He picked up a crowbar and rushed over to help out Kevin. Suddenly, it happened again. Gwen was battling as she normally did, when she felt a surge of power. The Knights backed off in fear and retreated.

Verdona ran out of her position and saw what was happening. "Oh, my." She said. "This is worse than I thought."

Gwen had taken on her Anodite form. "Those guys won't get away!"

"Gwen, stop!" The guys ran over and tried to restrain her.

"Whoa, what happened?" Ben asked. This was the first time he'd seen his cousin like this.

"Gwen, the fight's over. Let it go." Kevin told her. But she was too strong for them. In another surge of power, the guys were forced to the ground.

Ben groaned as he tried to get up. Verdona checked to make sure they were okay. "Verdona, what's happening?"

"I can't explain right now." Verdona said. "You wouldn't believe me. We have to find some way to get her back to her human form."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Ben asked.

"Right now it would seem the only way would to be to force it." Verdona said.

"You better stay out of my way!" Gwen said. Ben walked over and raised his hand. A second later, it came into contact with the side of her face. Verdona and Kevin looked in surprise. Ben stood there, staring at his hand. He seemed just as surprised as they did.

"Ow!" Gwen returned to her human form and put her hand her cheek. Everyone continued staring at shock.

"Gwendolyn, do you remember anything after you transformed?" Verdona asked.

"No, I don't remember anything." Gwen told them. "Except for this pain."

"Gwen…" Ben started.

"Please, just leave me alone for a while." Gwen said, running off. The others just stared after her, not knowing what to do anymore.


	5. Chapter 5

That evening, Gwen was lying down on her bed staring at the ceiling. Her cell phone rang. She got up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Gwen."

"Ben, I'm glad it's you." She was happy just to be able to talk to somebody.

"Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm feeling a little better." Gwen told him. "I took that hit pretty hard."

"Yeah, well, we're all concerned about this." Ben told her. "We're meeting with Verdona to see if she knows what's going on."

"Well, let me know if there's good news." Gwen told him. She fell back against her bed.

Elsewhere, Ben, Kevin, and Verdona were outside. "Verdona, you know what's going on with Gwen. You need to tell us." Ben said.

"It's not good news and I'd rather not let her know right now." Verdona explained.

"Verdona, she's bound to find out eventually."

"Yeah, but if we don't stop this, she'll lose her memory completely." Kevin added.

"It may not be that serious yet." Verdona said. "I may as well explain. I've heard of cases like this, but have never seen it until now."

"So, just how bad is it?"

"Her powers are too strong for her." Verdona explained. "Because she's half-human, she can restrain it for a while. But I don't know for how long."

"Oh, this is getting better by the minute." Kevin said, sarcastically.

"Is there anyway for her to keep it under control?" Ben asked.

"I suppose if she can somehow surpress her thoughts and concentrate it elsewhere, she may be able to prevent her power from taking over her." Verdona said.

"So, in other words, she has to take her negative energy and use it in a positive way?" Ben asked. They stared at him.

"Okay, that's another way to put it." She answered.

"But how is she supposed to do that?" Kevin asked.

"She must do it on her own, but for now we should try to keep her calm." Verdona said. "We don't want her to start thinking that she's never going to be able to control it."

As the guys walked back, Ben was trying to figure out what to tell Gwen. "Man, how am I going to explain this?" He turned to Kevin for an answer, but he was gone. Ben turned and he didn't see him anywhere. "Kevin?" He figured he had gone off somewhere and continued walking.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day, Kevin was walking when his cell went off. "Yeah?"

"Have you seen Gwen anywhere?" Ben asked.

"No. Why?"

"Because she's not at her house." Ben explained. "She took off and nobody knows where she went. Her parents are really worried."

"Let's meet up and try to figure out a plan." A half hour later, they met up in front of Gwen's house.

"Okay, here's the plan." Ben said. "I'll look for her at her favorite places. Verdona, you stay here in case she comes back. Kevin, you search the other side of town. We're bound to find her eventually." The group separated and headed the directions of their assigned areas.

As Kevin walked, he remembered a talk he had with Gwen once about areas where they go to think things over. He continued walking down the road.

Gwen was at the edge of the waterfront, staring at the water below. She held onto the rail for safety. "I should've guessed you'd come here." She turned around, snapping out of her thoughts. Kevin was there.

"Oh, it's you." Gwen said, sounding surprised.

"You alright? You seem jumpy."

"No, just a little surprised." Gwen told him. "You did just come up behind me with no warning."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." Kevin said. "Anyway, your family's worried. They've been looking for you."

"I know." Gwen said. "I just had to come out here to think. Maybe I should've never discovered my powers."

"What are you talking about? They're part of you. And you're amazing with them."

"I know, but what if there's no way I can get them under control? What if I really do forget everything? What if I have to…" She couldn't finish. Kevin had his arms on her shoulders. He lightly pressed his lips against hers.

When he pulled away, she seemed even more surprised, but she couldn't say anything. "Gwen, it's okay to be scared. I was afraid when I joined the team, that neither of you would trust me." Kevin told her. "You're strong, I know that you can handle this."

Gwen was still speechless. She looked back at the water. After a few seconds, she spoke up again. "You're right." She turned back toward him. "I better get back before this search goes on for too long."

"Hang on." Kevin gave her something. It looked like a necklace with an amulet attached. "It reminded me of you."

"Thanks, Kevin." Gwen said. Then she checked her watch. "Man, it's been a while. I have to go. See you round!" She ran off, still feeling more confused than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

Several days passed and the group just continued on as usual. The only difference being that Gwen was grounded for running away. "I can't believe this." Ben said.

"Well, she was pretty freaked." Kevin pointed out. "I would've done the same if I were here."

"I can sort of relate." Ben said. "That time the watch was making me blank out and turn into Big Chill…" He cut himself off.

"This is different, though." Julie said. She was with them, wondering if she could help out somehow.

"Okay, except for that one part." Ben covered.

"Look, Gwen needs our support." Julie pointed out. "How long do you plan on keeping her in the dark?"

"We don't want her to freak out even more." Ben protested.

"I think I need to talk to her." Julie said. "She spends a lot of time with you guys, but I think she may listen to me."

"How are you going to get upstairs without my aunt and uncle seeing you?" Ben pointed out.

"Don't worry, Ship's been learning a few new tricks." She told them.

That afternoon, Gwen was staring out her window. She held the pendant that she got from Kevin in her hand. She felt a sudden chill, and went over to her drawer. She looked at her old charms and spell books.

"I heard about your problem." She got up and turned to find Julie standing in her room.

"How'd you get in here?" She asked.

"I had some help." Julie said. Ship appeared from behind her.

"A lot's been going on lately." Gwen told her. "Everything just seems so complicated."

"It's okay, everyone goes through it." Julie pointed out.

"Not things like this." Gwen told her everything about how her powers were out of control and what happened with Kevin the other day.

"Wow." Julie said when she was finished. "That is a lot."

"I'm worried that maybe I won't be able to use my powers without blanking anymore." Gwen told her.

"You know, the same thing happened to Ben a few months ago." Julie pointed out. "Even without him saying it, I knew he felt scared and alone."

"That's exactly how I feel." Gwen realized.

"But I was there to help him." Julie continued. "I may not have powers like you guys, but I'm always there if you need me."

"Thanks." Gwen said. She looked at her pendant again. She'd been wearing it since it was given to her.

"You know, in a way, I think Kevin's trying to help you." Julie told her. "Even though he doesn't always show it, he's worried about you."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's how I feel about Ben sometimes, when you guys go off on different missions." Gwen looked out the window.

"I guess you're right." Gwen said. "Even if you're not always around, you're still sort of on our team." Then she heard footsteps. "That's my parents. You've got to get out of here."

"I have an idea." Julie said. She whispered something to Ship. As the footsteps got closer, Gwen turned to get Julie out, but she was gone.

"Gwen, is everything okay?" A voice outside her door called.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be down soon." She told her.

"You're a brilliant girl." A voice said. Gwen turned around again. There was nobody there.

"I'll come by for the next meeting." Another voice said. This time it was Julie.

"Julie? How did…?"

"Ship took over an old battle-suit. We got it working again and added in a few features, like this invisibility projection." Her voice said. "See you."

Gwen sat back down on her bed. "Okay, how long were you watching, Grandma? Don't you know it's an invasion of privacy?"

"Sorry, dear." Verdona's voice said. "I didn't want to disturb you two."

"Something tells me this is going to take a long time." Gwen said.

"I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to control your powers again soon." Verdona said. "Besides, when it happens, we'll all be there with you."

"Thanks, Grandma." Gwen said.


	8. Chapter 8

The group was on their way to a warehouse. Julie had walked by and got suspicious, so she called them over. "Are you sure this is where you saw them?" Ben asked as they all entered.

"Yeah, I was just walking by when I heard a crash." Julie told them. "I thought I saw something try to run."

"Okay, then, let's…" Before he could finish, an army of aliens appeared.

"How do they always know we're here?" Kevin asked, absorbing a metal bar.

"Let's not try to find out." Ben said. He was about to activate his watch, when he was suddenly hit by a laser.

"Ben!" Gwen called out. It was no good. He'd been knocked out.

"Okay, that's it." Kevin said. He ran into the middle of the battle and started attacking their attackers.

Gwen helped out by firing her disks. Just as one was coming up behind her, an energy ribbon tied it up and threw it to the ground. She turned and saw her grandmother.

"I thought you could use a hand, kiddo."

"Nice one, Grandma." She said. The two of them kept it up.

"Now, Ship!" Julie was wearing her battle suit. She noticed a few of them running over to Ben, who was still unconscious. Julie stepped up in front of him and managed to project a green energy shield around herself and Ben right when they started to fire.

"Try not to use up too much of your energy." Kevin called to her. He was still busy at the far end.

"I've had a lot of practice." Julie called back. She then took it down and managed to take out the three in front of them. Then she turned and knocked out the two in back. Finally, she dragged Ben over to a row of boxes. She figured he'd be safe there until the battle ended.

Gwen was still using her powers, but she almost fainted. Verdona noticed she was about to fall and caught her with an energy ribbon. "Are you okay?"

"Grandma, it's happening again." Gwen said. "It always starts when my powers begin to weaken."

"Gwen, you have to trust me on this." Verdona said. "Try to will yourself into transforming."

"Are you kidding?" Gwen asked.

"If you do it on your own, we'll still be able to reach you." Verdona explained. "This way, we can help you try to control your powers."

"Alright." Gwen said. She closed her eyes, and didn't even try to fight it. She allowed herself to transform.

The others had taken care of most of the aliens. "Whoa!" Julie turned and saw Gwen in her Anodite form. "Gwen? Is that you?"

She didn't respond. "Gwendolyn?" Verdona turned to face her. "Can you hear us?"

"Of course I can hear you." She said. "I'm still in a bit of shock here." By now, Ben had woken up and Kevin joined them.

"I'm really going to feel that tomorrow." Ben said. Then he looked up at Gwen. They noticed then that the aliens were regrouping.

"That's not good." Verdona realized. "Gwen, can you try to take care of them?"

Gwen held her hand up and tried to fire an energy blast, but nothing happened. "Oh, no." Everyone looked to each other in shock.

"This is really not good." Ben stated.


	9. Chapter 9

The group was staring at Gwen, who was just as surprised as them. "Oh, no. Why is this happening?"

"Okay, let's not panic and go to the worst case scenario." Verdona said.

"How can you stay so calm about this?" Ben whispered to her.

"Guys, they're going to fire!" Gwen warned. Just in time, the group ducked. Kevin rushed over to stop them, but he got hit instead.

"Kevin!" Julie yelled. The others just stared, helpless. "That's it, we've got to separate our sides!"

"I'll do it." Verdona said. She put up an energy wall in front of them so that they could talk without the battle interfering.

"I see where Gwen gets it from now." Julie said. Kevin was on the ground, in pain.

"Are you okay, man?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, I've never taken a hit this bad before." He told them.

"Guys!" Julie said. "I see why Gwen struggles to keep you on track now."

They all turned to her. She was struggling now. As if she was fighting herself. "Guys, I don't know what to do!"

"First thing you need to do is calm down." Ben told her.

"Hard to do when you're in the middle of a battle and the shield could break at any second." Almost as if she jinxed it, their wall shattered. Everyone gasped then turned to stare at her. "Oops."

Nobody knew what to say. Kevin was trying to get up, but was having trouble. As Ben ran over to help him, he got hit again and fell to the floor. "Not again!" Julie groaned.

"Try to surpress your thoughts, Gwen." Verdona told her.

"How?" She asked. "Using my head is usually how I'm able to help out in battles like this."

"But when you're in Anodite form, those thoughts take over your body." Verdona explained. "That's why you've been blanking out during fighting."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"You can still win this battle." Julie told her, helping Ben sit up.

"She's right, Gwen." Everyone turned to face Kevin. He finally managed to get up. "You have to trust yourself."

"I do, but nothing's working." Gwen tried to fire another beam and again, nothing happened.

"Wait, maybe…" Ben realized something. Suddenly, an energy surge occurred.

Gwen was caught in a beam of light and it looked like she was in pain. "I don't know if I can…"

"Gwen, you need to listen to us." Kevin told her.

"Don't use your mind to fight this battle." Verdona said.

"Then what should I…" She started.

"Just follow your heart!" Ben and Julie yelled at the same time. Then they stared at each other.

"What? I catch on fast." Julie told them.

Gwen closed her eyes and tried not to think. Suddenly, a bright glow filled the area. The others had to turn away due to the light. When the glow faded, they all turned back to face her. She was still in her Anodite form, but her pendant had appeared on her chest. The pink stone in the center was glowing.

She turned toward the enemy. She focused and unleashed several energy ribbons to knock them out. She turned to the ones that ran toward them on the left and fired several beams, defeating them. When it was over, she allowed herself to levitate down. When her feet hit the ground, she changed back into her human form.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I think we're good." Kevin told her. The others looked around at the battle damage.

"I hope they have insurance." Ben said.

"Come on, let's get out of here. This place creeps me out." Julie told them. All of them left the warehouse, but things weren't quite over yet.


	10. Chapter 10

Outside, Gwen turned to Verdona. "Thanks for all your help, Grandma."

"I'm there anytime you need me, dear." She told her.

"You did a really great job, Gwen." Ben said. "You took them out like it was nothing."

"You were really amazing." Julie added.

"Thanks, guys." Gwen said. Then she noticed someone was missing. Kevin was standing a few feet away from them.

"Nice going, Gwen." He said. "I knew you could do it." And then he walked off.

The others were still talking. Gwen just watched as he left. She turned to thank Verdona again, but she was gone. "Verdona?" She asked.

"I think she left." Ben said.

"Yeah, a lot of that's going around." She said quietly to herself.

"Still, you should be happy. You finally managed to keep your powers under control." He continued. "Where'd you get that pendant from, anyway?"

Gwen blushed. "From a friend." She said. "Anyway, I'll see you." She headed for home.

"I'm glad you're okay, Ben." Julie told him. "You took a really bad hit."

"Yeah, twice." He pointed out.

"Well, we better get going." Julie said. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

"You bet." They walked off, their hands held together.

Gwen was upstairs in her room. She wrote an e-mail to her brother. As soon as she was done, her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Gwen." It was Kevin.

"Hi, Kevin." Gwen said. "What's up?"

"Sorry about walking out on you. That was lame."

"I understand, I'd have done the same if it were reversed." Gwen told him.

"Still, I was wondering if there was some place we could ..." The two talked for a while.

"I'll just meet you there." Gwen hung up, sent her e-mail, and then headed back out.

In a big, grassy field, she paused. Standing in the middle of the field, was Kevin. She rushed over. "Hey, Kevin." She said, hugging him.

"Nice to see you again, Gwen." He told her. She pulled away after a few seconds. The sun had disappeared into the sky and the stars had come out.

As the two looked up at the sky, Gwen looked down for a second and noticed her pendant was glowing again. She looked over at Kevin, then back at the pendant. "Is something wrong?" He asked.

"No, nothing." Gwen said. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me. You were the only person there who was really listening."

"It was nothing, really." Kevin said. "I just didn't want you to forget everything."

"Like I could ever forget you." She teased.

"Hey, I was really worried about you that time." He told her.

"You were?" She asked. She realized something. Her pendant always glowed when she was around Kevin.

"I'm just glad that you made it through this okay." Kevin said.

"All of you did help, though." Gwen said. "You were right about one thing though, it's okay to be scared."

"Yeah, about that, I was a little scared myself." Kevin explained. "I was scared that you weren't going to make it, but…"

"I did, thanks to everyone's help. Especially yours." Gwen told him. "You're the reason I never gave up on this. You always knew the right thing to say."

"Hey, anytime, Gwen. You're amazing."

"I love you, Kevin." She said.

"I love you, too, Gwen." He told her. The two were looking at each other. Gwen leaned in and kissed him. They broke apart as a strong wind blew by and ended up running to the other end.

"Okay, that was weird." Kevin said.

"As if that's anything new in our lives." Gwen pointed out. They started laughing. A few seconds later, they were kissing again. As the two looked back up at the sky, Gwen knew that things were going to be okay again.


End file.
